Research Interests

Ruthann’s research focuses on equitably advancing health and wellbeing. To accomplish this goal, she has used participatory action research methodologies and worked with student teams to explore the impact of group-based integrative health practices on patients and practitioners at Federally Qualified Community Health Centers (FQHCs). She is currently studying the use of Indigenous Technologies through permaculture principles to formulate novel solutions for health equity and health justice. She served as a Co-PI for the New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Equity Study.  

Biography

In addition to being a Core Faculty member in Integrative Health Studies at California Institute of Integral Studies, Ruthann is a licensed, board certified acupuncturist and lifestyle medicine practitioner at Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) in New Jersey. There, she is part of a team that provides a full complement of integrative services to patients that includes health coaching, functional medicine, biofeedback, acupuncture, behavior health counseling, reiki, integrative nutrition, and integrative health practice instruction. She has also worked as part of Integrative Medicine teams at NYULangone Health, Mount Sinai Health, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

She has created and managed programs in public health, public administration, healthcare administration, and Traditional Chinese Medicine.  She developed curricula in integrative medicine, social medicine, health equity, mindful leadership, maternal infant health equity, leadership in a post-pandemic world, using indigenous technologies to explore integrative health as a solution for health justice, and whole person health.  

To further the vision of equitably advancing health and wellbeing, she created SOHL, a web-based self-care skills training program available free of charge to the public. The instructional website grew out of a series of participatory action research studies she led with health system leaders, staff, and patients. Hackensack Meridian Health used the SOHL site to provide integrative health resources to its communities during the COVID19 Pandemic. In 2018 she delivered a TEDx talk entitled Your Vital Role in Re-imagining Healthcare at Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, CA.  The website examined the use of integrative health approaches to chronic conditions and to maintain health. She has also led the development of employee-driven wellness programs for Fortune 100 Companies such as Intel and Nissan.

Ruthann is fortunate to have found practicing and teaching integrative health and medicine as a second career.  Previously, she was a healthcare attorney and founder of several health technology startups.  She was inspired to change her career path when her teenage daughter’s neurologist at NYULangone Medical Center recommended adding integrative practices to the treatment plan that helped control her epileptic seizures.

Education

Saybrook University, PhD, Mind-Body Medicine/Health Systems (2015). Dissertation: How Theory-Driven Wellness Planning Influences Attitudes and Behavior: An Action Research Case Study

Touro University, PhD, Business Administration/Healthcare Management (2007). Dissertation: Improving physician clinical documentation quality: evaluating two self-efficacy-based training programs

Pacific College of Health Sciences, DAc, Doctorate in Acupuncture (2018). Thesis: Using Acupuncture to Improve Social Determinants of Health

UC Davis, Post-graduate Certificate, Health Informatics(2012).

Rutgers University, MPH, Public Health Administration (2000). Thesis: National Inpatient Coder Survey, In Collaboration with the American Health Information Management Association

American University, Washington College of Law, JD, Healthcare Law (1987).                            

Dickinson College, BA, Liberal Arts, Magna Cum Laude (1980).                       

Awards & Distinctions

Research Fellow. (2021). Kean University.  

Team Member. (2022). New Jersey Maternal and Infant Health Equity Project.  

Distinguished Dissertation. (2015). Saybrook University.  

Courses

Lifestyle Medicine

Contemporary Topics in Integrative Health

Integrative Health Seminar

Integrative Nutrition 

Publications

The Power of Integrative Medicine and the Group in Equitably Advancing Health and Wellbeing, November, 2022, International Journal of Health, Wellness and Society

The Use of Evidence-Based Integrative Health Practices to Facilitate Symptom-Specific Workplace Wellness Programming and Promote Self-Care: Findings Inspired by a Case Study, Journal of Community Medicine, August, 2016, Authors: Russo, R., & Fortune, L.

Integrative Population Health Management: Capitalizing on the Low Risk, High Return of Integrative Health Services, Healthcare Financial Management Association Journal, November, 2015. Authors: Russo, R., Stitcher, M., & Deiner, I.  

The ROI for Using Integrative Health Modalities as an Adjunct to Conventional Care: A Case Study, New Jersey Healthcare Financial Management Association Magazine, pg. 42, Dec, 2015. Author:  Russo, R.  

Conventional Practitioners’ Communication of Integrative Alternatives During Informed Consent for Chronic Back Pain: An Evidence-Based, Patient-Centered Model. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician’s Journal, March, 2014. Author: Russo, R.  

Integrative Medicine Clinical Documentation Improvement Opportunities for Health Information Managers, Journal of Health Information Management, May, 2012. Author: Russo, R.  

Improving Physician Clinical Documentation Quality: Evaluating Two Self-efficacy Based Training Programs, Journal of Healthcare Management of the Academy of Management, March, 2012. Authors: Russo, R., Fitzgerald, S., Fuchs, B., Redmond, P.  

Recent Presentations

Integrative health practices impact on community health center staff, American Public Health Association National Annual Meeting, November, 2022

Integrative Health Practices and Health Equity for marginalized Populations, 4th International Conference on Public Health and Well-being, November, 2022

Integrative Health Practices and Health Equity for marginalized Populations, 8th Public Health Conference, November, 2022

Achieving Reproductive Justice in New Jersey Using Cross-Sector Collaboration and Community-Based Research, Northeast Conference on Public Administration, November, 2022

Using Cultural Sensitivity and Traditional Medicine in Integrative Health Practices, IM4US 12th Annual Conference, October, 2022

How Do Integrative Health Practices Impact Healthcare Workers In Community Health Centers: An Experiential Workshop, International Conference on Health, Wellness, and Society, September, 2022

Delivering a Culturally Sensitive Integrative Health Practices Training Program, Seventeenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Studies, July, 2022

Delivering a Culturally Sensitive Integrative Health Practices Training Program, National Wellness Institute, June, 2022

Collaborative Governance Model during the Pandemic: Kean University-Union County COVID Testing Center Consortium, Northeast Consortium on Public Administration, November, 2021 with Bok Jeong, Claire Yun, Stanley Mierzwa

Marketing Integrative Medicine Services to Community Health Center Patients, Integrative Medicine for the Underserved International Annual Meeting, September, 2021

The power of Integrative Medicine and the Group in Equitably Advancing Health and Wellbeing, Health Wellness and Society International Conference, September, 2021  

The Power of Integrative Medicine and the Group in Equitably Advancing Health and Wellbeing, National Wellness Institute Annual Meeting, July, 2021